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The Texas Renaissance Festival is one of the biggest Ren. Faires. (This IS Texas, after all). It attracts all types. The girl on the left is sporting a little chainmail top, a cowboy hat and a tail! The woman walking near her has an ankle length medieval dress. Her little fairy daughter clings to mom and wonders how that woman got a tail. What a crazy place to people watch.

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Deep in a lush jungle of Northern Thailand sits the tiny Village of Nai Soi. This is where the Padaung Tribe calls home. They used to live in Myanmar (formerly Burma) but they were treated so badly that they have fled the country.

They are widely known for the long necks of the women in the tribe. They wear large rings around their necks to make them longer. This is considered to be beautiful by the Padaung people. Latest studies have shown that their necks are not actually longer. Their collarbones get pushed down on an angle.

I leave it to you to decide if tourists should go to see them. On one hand, some say tourism perpetuates a practice that should be stopped. On the other hand, they are refugees who can’t get legitimate work and have no other real means of income other than tourism. Also, some say one culture shouldn’t judge another. Is getting implants any less bizarre? I’ll say this: If you do go, treat them with respect. They are regular people with all the same feelings that everyone else has.

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This is my last photo to share from the World Wide Photo Walk. In fact, it was the last shot of the day. I thought I was done. I was just waiting for other photographers to stroll out of the forest so we could all go to dinner. Then I saw the sun peeking through the trees one last time before all the woods were in dusk.

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October evenings are a perfect time to eat out on a restaurant patio in The Woodlands, Texas. The Woodlands Mall has a few restaurants with outdoor eating. This one is right on the waterway. And this year, since it has been so dry, there are not many bugs.

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On Oct 1st 2011, Scott Kelby had his annual World Wide Photo Walk. It takes place in cities all over the world. Our local version was in a forest in The Woodlands, TX.

I had never been on a photo walk. It was kind of an odd experience. A bunch of strangers all met at the head of a trail that leads into the forest. When we headed out, I felt like I needed to be inspired – right now. But, there wasn’t really that much that I was excited about shooting at that point.

I met some photographers of widely varying skill levels. All of them were very friendly which made the whole day out fun regardless of the pictures.

Eventually, I got into a groove and found some interesting forest items. This fungus was the first thing I came across. More to come.